Uehara complains of stiff shoulder

NEW YORK – Boston Red Sox closer Koji Uehara missed a mound appearance against the New York Yankees Friday due to stiffness in his right shoulder, manager John Farrell revealed the same day.

A decision on the next course of action will be made once his condition is better known. The Red Sox beat the Yankees 4-2 the same day with Edward Mujica finishing in the ninth. Junji Tazawa got four big outs as the setup man.

“I got this strange feeling when I was playing catch during practice, so I (told the manager) I’d better not pitch,” Uehara said. “There was no warning sign. It’s like what I had two years ago (when I hurt my right latissimus dorsi muscle). I could probably pitch if I tried, but I don’t want to have this drag out so I decided not to,” he said.

Uehara took over the closer’s role during the season last year and helped lead his team to a World Series championship. The former Yomiuri Giants right-hander has two saves, seven strikeouts, no walks with a 0.00 ERA over five innings this season.